Dashes and Dots: Punctuation Gotchas For Roleplayers

Most of us aren't writing novels in our roleplays hoping to be published but that doesn't mean punctuation isn't important. Correct punctation makes your work easier to read and conveys your intent more accurately. There's an old joke regarding comma usage that's a great example: "I don't want to eat, Lucy" has a very different meaning than "I don't want to eat Lucy". Commas aren't the only tricky things in writing. Today I'm going to talk briefly about some overused and under used punctuation in roleplay.

THE ELLIPSIS

What is it?
It's those three trailing dots after the end of a sentence. Just three dots. Not two, not four or five. Three. (little nod to Monty Python there)

It looks like this:

…

What's it used commonly for?

1. To indicate a thought or speech that is trailing off unfinished. "Did she…?" he wondered aloud.
2. To show a pause in a train of thought or in dialog. This isn't quite the same as the above. "Are you talking about… murder?" he whispered.
3. To indicate omitted words in a quotation so long as the omission does not change the meaning of the quotation. This is more of a journalistic use and doesn't apply so much to roleplay.
4. To indicate the passage of time. Weeks later… there were none.
5. An unfinished list. "There's my ex-wife Cindy. And there are my ex-wives Helena, Georgia, Audrey…"

How do I type it?
In most word processing or text apps on a PC, you can type ALT-0133 for the ellipsis character. Many programs will automatically convert three consecutive periods (...) to an ellipsis (…) for you. On other devices, you may need to use a character map to insert the ellipsis.

What not to use it for
Just be careful of overuse on this one. We've seen some writing where every other sentence ends with an ellipsis and that's a bit much.


THE EM DASH

What is it?
It's basically a long dash. It's called an em dash because it's the same width as the letter m. It looks like this:

—

What's it commonly used for?

1. To create a strong break in the structure of a sentence. His wives stayed home—he had all the fun.
2. It can take the place of parentheses in some cases. His ex-wives—all seven of them—were all present at the party.
3. It can be used instead of a colon to emphasize the end of a sentence. She counted the total number of ex-wives as he named them—seven!
4. In multiples of two or three to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted. Use three to indicate a whole missing word. Two indicates part of a missing word. His second ex-wife, now known as Mrs. S——, testified that he was a ———.

How do I type it?
In most word processing or text apps on a PC, you can type ALT-0151 for the em dash character. On other devices, you may need to use a character map to insert the em dash.

What not to use it for
Don't confuse it with the en dash or the hyphen, which have different uses.



THE EN DASH

What is it?
It's not quite as long as the em dash but longer than a hyphen. It's called an en dash because it's the same width as the letter n. It looks like this:

–

What's it commonly used for?

1. It literally means "through". Most often used with inclusive dates and numbers. On January 1–4, we will be hosting 200–300 guests.

How do I type it?
In most word processing or text apps on a PC, you can type ALT-0150 for the en dash character. On a Mac, hold down the Option key and type the minus sign located at the top of the keyboard. On other devices, you may need to use a character map to insert the em dash.

What not to use it for
Don't confuse it with the em dash or the hyphen, which have different uses.



THE HYPEN

What is it?
This is the shortest of the three dashes and the most commonly recognized. It looks like this:

-

What's it commonly used for?

1. To glue words together. The cinema was state-of-the-art.
2. To form compound words. He wasn't exactly a do-gooder.
3. To write numbers, fractions, and ages. The two-year-old's father was nearly forty-five. Nearly three-fourths of other toddlers' parents were younger.
4. Prefixes and suffixes. My great-grandfather arrived in mid-July, along with two of my ex-wives. They all drank sugar-free soda.

How do I type it?
The hypen is usually present on most English-based keyboard layouts.

What not to use it for
Don't confuse it with the em dash or the en dash, which have different uses, except in the case of number ranges where a hyphen may be used in place of an en dash.



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RPL Writer's Corner Disclaimer:As always, these articles are merely suggestions and recommendations based on our experience, the advice of experts, publishing standards, and/or established rules of the language. People are free to do as they please with their writing. These aren't rules and the author has provided this in an attempt to be helpful to other writers and roleplayers. If the information doesn't suit you, simply disregard.






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